Everything was in place for a historic collapse by Wyndham Clark, and based on the jeers and taunts that followed him throughout the final round of the U.S. Open, the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club fans would’ve been OK with that.
Everything was in place for an equally historic comeback by Sam Burns, too, and with Clark the villain, he’d emerged as the unlikely hero.
But then Burns’ putt on the 18th hole rolled right up to the edge of the pin. Then, when it didn’t go in, he fell to his knees and flipped his putter, the reality of heartbreak for a second consecutive year at the U.S. Open starting to sink in.
Then, Clark made a 24-foot birdie putt and unleashed a powerful fist pump as his lead grew. And after entering Sunday with a six-shot lead, Clark — after his locker-bashing incident at Oakmont last year — did just enough to shoot 3 over Sunday, to finish 4 under and defeat Burns by a shot for his second U.S. Open win in the last four years.
Clark became the first wire-to-wire winner of the major since Martin Kaymer in 2014. He avoided an epic collapse like Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters — still the only golfer to lose a major when leading by six or more shots entering the final round, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
And if Burns, who entered Sunday at even par, completed the seven-shot comeback, it would’ve tied Arnold Palmer (1960) for the largest comeback after 54 holes in tournament history. Instead, the celebration belonged to Clark.
The jeers had followed him wherever he went. “Get in the bunker” shouts came after tee shots. There were “don’t choke” jabs, too, that got fans ejected. If Clark thought the Shinnecock crowd was “flat” after his third round, then this was the polar opposite.
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